She went on to explain that these finicky eaters often reject food not because of taste, but rather because they find the look or smell unappealing or have negative physical or emotional childhood associations with food.

I know I’m only one-eighth of the way to being a medical professional and so might be missing out on something here, but it seems to me that what she’s saying is that sometimes people base their eating decisions on subjective personal preferences about the food in question.

Heaven forfend!

The implication seems to be that if you don’t like a given food for reasons other than taste, you may have a mental illness. I wonder if that covers my avoidance of foods like deep-fried Twinkies for the sake of my health.

Related

I agree, I’ve worked closely for extended durations with ED patients before. If I hate eggs, nobody should care as long as it doesn’t substantially affect my QOL.

On the other hand, if studies have shown a close causative link between selective eating and eventual eating disorder, then that’s something pediatricians and parents should keep in mind. However, DSM classification is a “bit much.”

OK, but the main point is that there are qualitatively different reasons why picky eaters don’t eat certain food from why most people don’t. Picky eaters have something more akin to an irrational fear. Psychiatrists shouldn’t think that picky eaters refusing to eat green food are doing so for the same reasons that some people, say, prefer salmon to trout.